Media release - 30 October
2012 - Dr Russell Reichelt has been reappointed
as chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Authority for a second five-year term,
Environment Minister Tony Burke announced
today.
“I’m really glad Dr
Russell Reichelt will continue leading the
excellent work being undertaken by the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority,” he
said.
“He has a wealth of
knowledge of the Great Barrier Reef as both
a researcher and marine manager, and is
well-regarded in the field of marine science.
“Over the last five
years Dr Reichelt has done an exemplary
job leading the management of the Great
Barrier Reef at a time when it faces a number
of challenges.
“The Great Barrier Reef
is an amazing natural treasure, and I’m
pleased to continue working with Dr Reichelt
to ensure it is protected for the future.”
As Chairman, Dr Reichelt
has been involved in a number of major initiatives
including the 2009 Great Barrier Reef Outlook
Report which provided an overview of the
Reef’s health, highlighting it was at a
crossroads and more protection was needed.
Under his leadership,
the highly successful Reef Guardian stewardship
program expanded to include 113,000 students
from over 285 schools as well as 14 Councils.
The agency also strengthened
its work with Traditional Owners, expanded
water quality monitoring, and implemented
an extreme weather response program after
cyclone Yasi.
Dr Reichelt also supported
the concept of a strategic assessment of
the Great Barrier Reef region to examine
how multiple pressures from multiple activities
are affecting the Reef. It follows the World
Heritage Committee expressing concern about
the impact of coastal development along
the Queensland coast on the marine environment.
He has a strong interest
in the Great Barrier Reef – he’s been diving
on the Reef since 1968 and graduated with
honours in science from the University of
Queensland in 1974.
During the 1980s he
worked as a research scientist at the Australian
Institute of Marine Science studying coral
reef ecology, particularly the crown-of-thorns
starfish. He has a PhD in marine science
and was CEO of the Australian Institute
of Marine Science for five years.
Dr Reichelt has been
a board member for a number of environmental
and marine management organisations, and
chaired environmental advisory committees.
He is an Adjunct Professor at James Cook
University and the University of Queensland.
+ More
Giant manta ray to receive
protection
Media release - 20 October
2012 - Environment Minister Tony Burke has
announced that a majestic giant of the sea,
the giant manta ray, is now protected under
national environment law.
The giant manta ray
– which has a wingspan of up to 6.5 metres
and can weigh up to 1400kg - is now listed
as a Migratory Species under Australia's
Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act.
Mr Burke said while
giant manta ray populations are believed
to be fairly secure in Australia, they have
declined by more than 30 per cent internationally.
"The giant manta
ray is a highly migratory species - with
some being known to travel more than 1000
kilometres - and threats often arise outside
of protected areas," Mr Burke said.
"For this reason,
the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory
Species and our national environment law
are an excellent way to achieve international
cooperation and coordination to better protect
the species.
"The major threat
to manta rays internationally is overexploitation.
The species has a high value in international
trade, and fisheries exist overseas that
target it at unsustainable levels. The species
can also end up as by-catch.
"However, the giant
manta ray is not targeted commercially or
recreationally here, and is rarely reported
as by-catch in Australian waters."
Mr Burke said the listing
ensures that it is now an offence to take,
trade, keep, or move the species in Commonwealth
waters.
"If a commercial
or recreational fisher interacts with a
giant manta ray in Commonwealth waters,
they will be required to report the incident,
as is currently the case with all protected
species listed under the Act such as dugongs,
whale sharks and a number of species of
whales and turtles," he said.
The giant manta ray
is found in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate
waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian
Oceans, and is common in tropical waters
of Australia.
The protection measure
follows the giant manta ray's inclusion
as a threatened migratory species on an
appendix of the international multilateral
environment agreement, the Convention on
the Conservation of Migratory Species.
The Convention seeks
to conserve terrestrial, avian and marine
species that migrate across or outside national
jurisdictional boundaries. Parties to the
Convention must protect migratory species
listed on its appendices that live within,
or pass through, their jurisdiction.
